Rights in the Balance: Free Press, Fair Trial, and Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart (Plains Histories) [Hardcover]

Mark R. Scherer (Author), James W. Hewitt (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0896726266 | ISBN-13: 978-0896726260 | Publication Date: May 15, 2008

On a horrific night in October 1975, Erwin Simants brutally murdered six members of the Henry Kellie family in tiny Sutherland, Nebraska. Massive media attention to the grisly story soon spawned a historic collision between two of the most cherished American constitutional protections—the First Amendment’s guarantee of a free press and the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a criminal defendant’s right to a fair trial before an impartial jury. Rights in the Balance is the story of the complex legal battles set in motion that tragic night on the western Nebraska plains. In juxtaposition to the criminal prosecution of Erwin Simants, Mark Scherer traces the Nebraska Press Association’s battle to overturn a gag order imposed on the media by state court judges. Prohibited from publishing certain details about the crimes and the Simants prosecution, the association set its own arduous legal course that would lead ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court and the landmark ruling issued in Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart. The decision, one of the most closely followed in American constitutional history, remains one of the high court’s most significant statements and controlling precedents on the troublesome and recurring conflict between the rights of free press and fair trial. Balancing the nuances of myriad legal considerations against the very human dimensions of both the constitutional litigations and the Simants prosecution, Scherer offers up a narrative accessible not only to communications and legal specialists and scholars but also the interested general public.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark R. Scherer is associate professor of history at the University of Nebraska—Omaha. A former practicing attorney, Scherer has argued cases in the supreme courts of Nebraska and Ohio as well as in many federal district and circuit courts. He is also the author of Imperfect Victories: The Legal Tenacity of the Omaha Tribe, 1945–1995.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896726266
• ISBN-13: 978-0896726260
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #757,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Law > Perspectives on Law > Conflict of Laws

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first amendment clashes with the sixth amendment more often than one would think, July 12, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rights in the Balance: Free Press, Fair Trial, and Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart (Plains Histories) (Hardcover)

The first amendment clashes with the sixth amendment more often than one would think. "Rights in the Balance: Free Press, Fair Trial, & Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart" is an examination of the modern media and its interference with the court system as people attempt to get a fair trial in today's society. A deft examination that hopes to find the fine line that can lie between the two peacefully, "Rights in the Balance: Free Press, Fair Trial, & Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart" is a top pick for community library law collections.